A team of innovators is working on a wristband and an app to monitor emotional states.

– Just as fitness bands help take care of physical fitness, we focus on mental well-being – says Piotr Stajura – one of the creators of the Track Your Mental project.

The solution is intended to be used for mental health care. The band tracks emotional biomarkers and then transmits the data to an app.

– Our main goal is to detect early signals that could suggest the occurrence of depressive episodes or panic attacks by monitoring, among other things, the intensity and frequency of anxieties or 'stress' and the time it takes to return to a normal state – says Piotr Stajura. – The system we're creating continuously analyzes body signals and provides real-time data along with specific, personalized action suggestions, which help regain inner balance and identify the sources of these troubling signals.

Prevention is better than cure

Track Your Mental is primarily a tool for prevention, as well as supporting learning and personal effectiveness.

– We aim to ensure that, thanks to our technology, everyone can more accurately identify and manage their own emotional state before the need for specialist intervention arises – emphasizes Piotr Stajura.

Indeed – before such a need arises. Track Your Mental is not an electronic doctor or psychologist and is not meant to replace professionals. However, it can help intervene when something alarming is happening with the body, thereby minimizing the risk of destructive behaviors or prolonged and costly treatment.

The Track Your Mental solution can also be useful for specialists.

– Continuous monitoring of the emotional state can indeed contribute to better diagnosis of mental disorders, as well as assist in conducting therapy itself, providing objective information about treatment progress – says psychiatrist and pediatrician Dr. Paweł Kukiz-Szczuciński, who collaborates on the project.

Continuous monitoring, rather than momentary testing, is also invaluable information for doctors of other specialties: pediatricians, cardiologists, or gynecologists, who often are the first contact with the patient and frequently deal with psychosomatic symptoms. Thus, this solution could help shorten queues and focus on patients requiring the support of a given specialist.

– Additionally, self-awareness is a very important aspect of treating any disorder, and the Track Your Mental solution focuses on providing information to the user – indicates Dr. Paweł Kukiz-Szczuciński. – Therefore, they can independently take actions that serve to improve their well-being and avoid behaviors or situations that worsen their state.

– The solution can also prove effective for people already diagnosed as a support to conventional treatment, e.g., for depression, anxiety attacks, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia – adds Dr. Paweł Kukiz-Szczuciński.

The prototype works, it's time for the final device

The project is being worked on by graduates of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology of the Warsaw University of Technology: Piotr Stajura, Michał Waśkiewicz, and Adrian Łostowski. They started over 2 years ago.

– The idea came from our own lives and clients – says Piotr Stajura. – On the one hand, it's the result of observing ourselves and our children, what happens to us and them when emotions take over, how the body behaves, or how sometimes the same stimuli affect us differently depending on the state we are in. And on the other hand, it's information from mental health specialists. In one of the companies I work with, someone noticed alarming results on their fitness band: every week, on a specific day and time, their heart rate and pressure significantly increased. It turned out that on that day, they had meetings with their team and a toxic coworker. During consultations, it was revealed that psychosomatic symptoms started appearing the day before (stomach problems and sleep issues – which the band did not show). And so we started to check how such 'stress' can manifest and how it can be investigated. It turned out that pulse alone is not the best biomarker, so using available solutions was out of the question.

– Over these 2 years, we've analyzed research, technical possibilities, and implementation options – says Piotr Stajura. – We also checked target groups and interest in our solution. We now have a prototype that proves our concept works, and the device shows changes in emotional state. Now we will miniaturize it and design the final device together with colleagues from the Elwas company.

To bring the solution to market, external financing is needed.

– We are currently raising a pre-seed round and talking to interested investors (individuals and VC funds) – adds Piotr Stajura.

Track Your Mental and its creators have qualified for the next stage of the Start-Up-Med Competition as part of the IX Health Challenges Congress (HCC, March 7-8, 2024).